Ren Tianye was naturally interested.
In fact, he was extremely interested.
He wanted to see just what kind of absurd, mind-boggling things the Empress Xiao Mingzhao had done this time.
He immediately nodded.
Overjoyed, Wei Shuo said, General, please come with me.
As usual, Ren Tianye brought his personal guards, along with his deputy general Wang Ming. Following Wei Shuo, they headed northwest of the capital. They soon arrived at a place that seemed like a hidden paradise on earth.
Backed by the rolling mountains of the imperial gardens and facing the expansive Jingyue Lake, it stood across the water from the main palace halls, like a tranquil sanctuary independent of the capital.
This place is truly not bad.
Wang Ming observed the surroundings and could not help but sigh in admiration.
This was personally supervised by Xiao Mingzhao, of course it is not bad,
Wei Shuo said, his tone still harboring resentment, clearly harboring a deep disgust for this beautiful estate.
He then led the way. After passing through a three-mile-long Yuhua stream corridor and bypassing a layered forest of pink plum blossoms, they finally caught sight of the sweeping eaves, resembling a private residence hidden amidst the prosperity of a golden age.
It was an extremely elegant palace. Unlike the magnificent grandeur of the imperial palace, it exuded a sense of refined gentleness.
In front of its doors stood imperial guards on duty.
Who goes there? Dismount at once!
This is a forbidden area, leave immediately!
Amidst the loud shouts, Ren Tianye's group did not pause at all and went straight ahead. Deputy General Wang Ming immediately spoke on Ren Tianye's behalf: This is the Grand Commandant of our dynasty. Who are you to dare shout so recklessly?
The twenty armored soldiers at the door hastily knelt down.
Reporting to the Lord, we are the guards of Weiyang Palace, ordered by Her Majesty to guard this place day and night.
My Lord, Her Majesty has issued an edict that no one but she may enter this place. If the Lords do not have Her Majesty's edict, please do not make things difficult for us.
The Grand Commandant naturally will not make things difficult for you! Wei Shuo, fearing Ren Tianye would get angry, immediately dismounted, walked up to the guards, and scolded them in a low voice: Fools! Right now, Her Majesty has been residing in the Yuchen Mansion for a long time, and the military power of the capital is solely in the hands of the Grand Commandant. How many heads do you have that you dare to block the Grand Commandant?
Why aren't you letting us pass?
Although these words contained the intention of exonerating the guards, they also carried a strong threat. Under normal circumstances, these guards should have admitted their mistake and stepped aside.
Unexpectedly, these men only showed faces full of conflict.
Yet they still said heavily, No, Her Majesty has given strict orders that no one but her may enter. If you do not have an imperial edict, we will absolutely not let you Lords in.
With that, the guards drew their long swords from their waists one by one.
This made Wei Shuo, who wholeheartedly wanted to protect these guards, feel anxious, but Ren Tianye on horseback grew even more intensely interested.
The Empress had given these Weiyang Palace guards a death order!
What exactly was hidden here?
To warrant such a formation?
Insolent! Wei Shuo's mind raced as he shouted, You dare be so disrespectful to the Grand Commandant? Hmph, do you think the blade of the Marquis of Changping is not sharp? If you dare block us again today, I will certainly cut you down from my horse!
The deterrent power of the title Marquis of Changping was quite effective. At the very least, before Ren Tianye had been in the capital for long and established his merits, the name of the Marquis of Changping was much more useful than Ren Tianye's.
The soldiers looked closely and saw that it was indeed the Marquis of Changping, who had once been bedridden with illness. Only then did they put away their swords one by one. The leader even whispered, Lord Marquis, it is not that we have the courage to stop you, but if we let you in, Her Majesty will probably execute our nine generations. We...
Rest assured, the Grand Commandant is here and will guarantee your safety.
This was exactly the sentence the guards wanted. They immediately fell to their knees and paid their respects to Ren Tianye once again.
Ren Tianye nodded and asked directly, Who is living in the hall?
Reporting to the Grand Commandant... the leading guard hurriedly said, We have never seen them either. Over the past few years, we have only seen Her Majesty come and go, but have never seen anyone come out from inside. However, I have heard some gossip, I just don't know if it's true.
Speak without hesitation.
Yes, Grand Commandant. I heard that living in this Jinghua Hall is a pretty boy secretly kept by Her Majesty. It seems to be a body double for young master Tuoba Xiangtai, kept by Her Majesty.
Whoa!
At this moment, Ren Tianye finally understood.
So this was what Wei Shuo wanted him to see!
A body double of Tuoba Xiangtai!
However, the offensive power of this double against Tuoba Xiangtai didn't seem strong enough. Back then, he had forged many doubles and sent them to Tuoba Xiangtai via memorials, but he hadn't seen Tuoba Xiangtai angrily kill Xiao Mingzhao.
My Lord, this double...
Is not ordinary! Wei Shuo walked up to Ren Tianye's horse again and whispered, After I learned of this from Xiao Ruyi, I ordered my trusted aides to investigate. It took a tremendous amount of effort to get some clues, but it left me thoroughly astonished.
My Lord, you can go inside and take a look.
Ren Tianye nodded, becoming even more curious.
After dismounting, he took Wei Shuo, Wang Ming, and the other guards straight towards Jinghua Hall. The layout inside the hall was magnificent yet elegant, abandoning bright yellow and vermilion in favor of moon white, light purple, and pure white. Warm jade paved the floor, luxurious but not ostentatious, making one feel delighted.
It seemed their movements were heard by the person inside.
Voices could faintly be heard in the distance.
Ren Tianye was about to walk over when Wei Shuo next to him suddenly asked, General, have you ever seen the Third Prince of the Barbarians, Tuoba Xiangtai?
I haven't, why?
That's a bit of a pity, Wei Shuo said. However, I am prepared.
Saying this, he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Ren Tianye with both hands, saying, When Tuoba Xiangtai came to the capital, someone personally painted a portrait of him. It was painted by a famous master in the capital and is incredibly lifelike. If the General takes a look, you will have a general impression of this Tuoba Xiangtai.
Ren Tianye opened the scroll. The man in it was dressed in plain clothes, his face like carved jade, his eyebrows raised and eyes bright, his steps graceful yet steady. What an image of a dashing young master.
This matched perfectly with the information Ren Tianye had gathered previously.
He nodded and was about to return the scroll to Wei Shuo.
Unexpectedly, Wei Shuo said again, General, don't rush. Look a few more times, especially at Tuoba Xiangtai's appearance. You must remember his face.
Ren Tianye asked, Is it very important?
Wei Shuo nodded heavily: Extremely important!
Alright! Ren Tianye looked at it a few more times, making sure he memorized the appearance of Tuoba Xiangtai in the portrait. Wei Shuo still didn't let it go and had Deputy General Wang Ming next to him look at it a few times as well.
Only then did he put away the scroll.
Right at this moment, the footsteps of the person inside the hall approached. As they turned past a screen, a voice drifted over: Luan'er, you haven't come to see me for a long time. Are you finally free today?
The person had arrived right in front of them, but...
The expressions of Ren Tianye and Deputy General Wang Ming both changed drastically.
With a loud clatter, Wang Ming drew his saber from his waist. The personal guards behind him also drew their long swords in unison. In an instant, the gleam of blades flashed.
Even Wei Shuo, who was mentally prepared, subconsciously gripped the sword in his hand.
Then, they heard Wang Ming's cry of disbelief.
"Tuoba Xiangtai, weren't you at the Yuchen Mansion? What are you doing here?"
...
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
